Integration of emerging technologies within higher education: design and management of Laboratories exploring VR technology

Abstract

[EN] The integration of VR within educational contexts presents various learning advantages, as resulting from literature. The following paper delineates the procedural steps undertaken by METID Learning Innovation Task Force within Politecnico di Milano university to conceptualize and establish Virtual Reality Laboratories, fostering active engagement of professors, tutors, and students with this emergent technology during instructional sessions. The paper elucidates the process and optimal methodologies for organizing and administering VR lessons, drawing from the accumulated experience gained through the utilization of these Laboratories over a span of two years.The establishment of these VR Labs provided an opportunity to create an experimental environment wherein professors and students could engage with lesson content in an advanced manner through VR technology. While a more comprehensive study is needed on the matter, the majority of students, based on post-classroom questionnaires, expressed a desire to repeat a similar activity in other classes.